By Susana Laulu, Program Director, PASAI
We, in partnership with the INTOSAI Development Initiative (IDI), are supporting 7 supreme audit institutions (SAIs) to deliver ISSAI-based compliance audits of government payroll frameworks.
Government payroll is one of the largest and most sensitive areas of public expenditure. When payroll frameworks are strong, governments can better safeguard public funds, ensure staff are paid accurately and on time, and maintain trust in public administration. Through our collaborative approach, the cooperative compliance audit of government payroll frameworks (CCAP) program will help Pacific SAIs strengthen their compliance audit capability and produce clear, actionable recommendations that support system integrity and effective controls.
Why CCAP matters
CCAP directly supports our long-term strategy (2024–2034) to help SAIs effectively fulfil their mandates and sustain capability over time. By strengthening the relevance, timeliness and quality of audit work, the program will enable SAIs to:
apply audit standards and quality management in an ISSAI-based compliance audit
improve audit processes, including planning, documentation, execution and reporting
deliver timely reports with practical recommendations to strengthen payroll controls and reduce risks of non-compliance
learn faster through cooperation, building consistency and knowledge sharing across the region.
What’s happening now: CCAP planning workshop (May 2026)
The first CCAP program activity will be a 5-day, face-to-face planning workshop in Tonga designed to strengthen participants’ knowledge of the audit subject matter and methodology, with a particular focus on the planning phase. Effective planning is fundamental to delivering high-quality audits – helping teams clarify audit objectives, identify and respond to risks of non-compliance, and document robust audit plans that meet ISSAI requirements.
During the workshop, participants will build practical capability to understand and apply the ISSAI-based compliance audit methodology, map key components of government payroll frameworks, and plan a payroll audit that is risk based and well documented.
Who is involved
Seven SAIs have signed statements of commitment to participate, namely, those of the Cook Islands, FSM Chuuk, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. The PASAI–IDI resource team will support participants from these SAIs throughout the program.
What success looks like
The CCAP program will conclude in March 2027, with participating SAIs expected to issue their audit reports at the end of the program. Across the program, we are working toward outcomes such as:
Stronger SAI capability to plan and deliver high-quality compliance audits in line with ISSAI requirements.
Improved ability to identify, assess, and respond to payroll-related risks of non-compliance.
More robust, consistently documented audit plans and working papers.
Greater efficiency and timeliness through clear audit objectives, focused planning, and shared expectations for execution and reporting.
Clear findings and actionable recommendations that strengthen government payroll frameworks, system integrity and controls.
A regional report that captures trends and can be used as an advocacy tool.
The power of partnership
The CCAP program continues our strong and highly valued partnership with IDI, though which we are collectively supporting SAIs in the Pacific to lift their audit capability and have greater impact by cooperation. It follows on from us working together last year to support 9 SAIs from the region in completing a cooperative performance audit and regional report as part of a global initiative auditing climate change adaptation actions.
Alongside the CCAP program, we at PASAI are, with IDI, supporting SAIs from the region to complete another cooperative performance audit as a part of a global Sustainable Development Goal Auditor Initiative.
Next steps
As teams prepare for the CCAP planning workshop, participants are completing pre-workshop research to document their jurisdictions’ payroll framework (including relevant laws and regulations, governance and payroll systems). This preparation will support richer peer learning during the workshop, and help each SAI leave with a stronger foundation for planning and delivering the cooperative audit.
We look forward to sharing updates as the program progresses and as participating SAIs move toward reporting in 2027. By working together, the region is building stronger compliance audit capability and contributing to more resilient public payroll systems.
The PASAI–IDI workshop facilitation team at a planning session in March 2026
